HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – It’s been over a week since a horrible beat down took place at Gulfstream Academy in Hallandale Beach.
On Monday, the president of the Broward County Teachers Union said there’s a lot more to the story and said the principal should be held accountable.
“How many more incidents do you need to have happened, how many more need to be hurt, and God forbid that, do we have to wait until a student is possibly killed?” asked Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco.
Fusco is calling for accountability in light of the lunch hour school fight at Gulfstream Academy.
The mother of the 7th grade girl seen in cellphone video being beaten by other students said her daughter was left unconscious.
“I’m traumatized every time I see the video,” said Christina Neptune, the victim’s mother. “It breaks my heart to know that my daughter went through something like that.”
Neptune told Local 10 News she found out about the April 1 attack from paramedics, not the school.
“It’s overwhelming to just know that nobody is empathizing in the school with this situation and I’m trying to get answers, and it’s like a dead end every time,” Neptune said.
Fusco says for months now she’s been hearing growing concerns from parents and even school staff over safety, violence and what she describes as inaction from school principal Tarshe Freeman.
“Having severe security issues brought to the principal’s attention and it’s either falling on deaf ears, or an excuse,” Fusco said. “The leader of that institution needs to know what they’re doing.”
She was asked if she thinks the principal should be removed.
“I think they need to take some swift, urgent action, that this principal should possibly be removed and reassigned to another area,” Fusco replied.
In a statement, Broward School District officials claim school leaders took immediate action following the attack. They also claim the students involved did face disciplinary consequences, but nothing on the principal.